


The red parade

by Redrocketeer



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Almost coping, Angst, Between chapters 9 and 10, Coping, Freying nerves, Gen, Post Altissia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-17
Updated: 2017-06-17
Packaged: 2018-11-15 03:17:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11222151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redrocketeer/pseuds/Redrocketeer
Summary: Between the Leviathan battle and the train came the hardest days any of them had known.





	The red parade

**Author's Note:**

> This is set after Red letter day but it's not essential to read that to follow here. If you've played chapter 9 you're good. (Emotionally compromised, but good).

Ignis finally woke on Gladio’s watch.

The big man almost fell out of the chair he had crammed into three hours before when he finally heard Ignis shifting on the bed. The doctor hadn’t been able to predict how long Ignis would stay under. The impact to his head had been heavy, he’d lost blood, she’d said, more than they could see. His left eye had been pulverized, his body left cold. Gladio had caught a glimpse of the remains when the doctor gently parted the ruined lids and had instantly felt sick. He tried not to see it every time he closed his eyes or hear the sounds of the mess being slipped away whenever it was quiet. 

Then the milky blue of the right eye was the greater horror. The doctor said there was a chance it could recover but it was slim. It was whole but the damage would be impossible to predict until the swelling subsided. He supposed it was fair, they’d never seen such injuries before. He sure never had. He was grateful for the bandages, less so for the watered-down hope.

Gladio tensed, knowing that days of watching over two unconscious comrades was nothing compared to what he was now going to have to do when Ignis woke. 

His hand was quick against Ignis’ skin, still a little too cool. “Hey, easy. Just relax,” he said, sitting on the edge of the big bed, hand on his best friend’s chest. He thought of Prompto, keeping the same duty in the next room, hoped his watch would be over soon too.

“Gladio.” Ignis voice rustled like dry leaves. His hand rose clumsily to his face but Gladio intercepted it. “Uh uh, don't touch that yet. How do you feel?”  
He fought to keep the tension from his voice as he watched Ignis try and process what he was feeling.   
“ _Hurts_ ,” Ignis managed, his body barely shifting on the bed.   
“I know. All over?”  
“Hmmmm.”   
Gladio wanted to talk longer, to keep Ignis with him, but he already sounded exhausted and Gladio decided all he could really do was let him rest.

“Go back to sleep, buddy. I’ll be here.” One hand squeezed Ignis’ tight, the other brushed carefully over his hair. It was enough to coax Ignis to let go. He’d only managed a few words but to hear that voice again, even pained, also brought hope. Gladio pulled out his phone and sent a text off to Prompto, then to the doctor. It was the first spark of good news in three almost sleepless days and he needed to share it.

***

The next time Ignis woke it was with a cry. Adrenaline made his fingers strong as he threw the covers off, sat upright, breathing heavily as he used his arms to hold himself up. There was something on his face and he needed to get it away. It was blocking his vision. His fingers tangled in the snug fabric. He tried to find the starting point by feel but failed. Frustrated, and more than a little anxious, he grabbed the lower edge of the arrangement and pulled it upwards. The air that rushed over his skin made it sting, but only on the left. He knew that was significant but he couldn’t remember why. It would come to him. It would have to wait. First he had to find the others, and the one who had bound him. They were in danger. 

In slowly occurred to his muddied brain that, though his eyes were now uncovered, his vision was still obscured. Dark. It must be dark. He reached to switch on the torch he wore on his chest but it wasn’t there, only the thin fabric of borrowed pyjamas. A strange kidnapper indeed who provides pyjamas.

Ignis got to his feet. If there was no light then he’d use his hands. Finding the wall was easy. If there was a wall there’d logically be a door. He would find it but he had to wait for a moment first. His chest hurt, his head gave a horrible lurch when he moved so he found himself leaning on the wall to keep himself upright. As he waited he tried to recall what had happened. There’d been an attack of some kind… somewhere. He fought to keep his scrambled brain on track. There was a bed. Something on his face. Someone else’s pyjamas… Why? 

He needed to find the door. He needed to find Gladio, Noctis, Prompto. They may be in a worse situation. Prompto, especially, didn’t care for the dark. He knew that. He remembered that.

The door opened to his left but it didn’t let in any light. Was the power out? There was no light even from outside. A moonless night? Bare feet on floorboards told him little. The footsteps suggested two people, one heavy, one lighter. Ignis froze, hoping his situation had improved and not worsened.

“Iggy, _gods_ , what are you doing up? Come back to bed. Come on.” He flinched as large hands wrapped around his upper arms. “It’s alright, it’s just me,” Gladio said.  
“Gladio.” Ignis voice sounded strange to him. Too thin. “Are you alright?”  
“I’m fine. Prompto is fine. Come on. You need to be careful, Iggy. You got hurt pretty bad. We’re gonna need to get you some fresh bandages. Prompto, could you check the bathroom?”  
“You got it.”

Ignis tensed against the wall, holding up his hand. Why was everyone being so forced casual? Why were they talking so fast? He didn’t have time to think.

He let Gladio sit him back on the bed because he was tired but he didn’t want to lie down yet, he wasn’t ready to feel vulnerable. He sought for Gladio’s wrist to steady himself but Gladio was busy fussing at the covers. He felt a long way from understanding just what was going on and no one was offering any useful information. He frowned.

“How did you find me in the dark?”

Gladio stilled. Ignis didn’t know the significance of that yet. There was a tight little sigh that made Ignis’ belly churn. Gladio moved closer. He left the bedding alone to take Ignis’ hands. Both of them. Ignis was too tense to squeeze back.

Gladio took a breath. “What do you remember? About the battle,” he asked gently.   
He could see Ignis was frowning again, this time in concentration. “The… the chancellor’s ship… Noct! Is he-”. Ingis’ head turned to the side as if about to head off in that direction, the wrong direction.

“Noct’s fine. I mean, he's unconscious but the doc said he'd recover. Prompto’s been with him most of the time.”

Ignis sat quietly a moment, sifting through every new bit of news. “And Lady Luna?” Gladio winced even though he'd been expecting the question.

There was a heavy sigh. “She didn’t make it, Iggy,” Gladio said, flecks of pain in his voice marking it out as the truth.   
“Noct… shouldn’t be alone,” Ignis said firmly.   
“He barely is,” Gladio reassured. “Right now you need us more,” handily deflecting Ignis’ attempt to deflect right back at him.

“I’m fi-” He couldn’t finish the lie. Gladio watched him closely, the concentration marked on his face. It was only a matter of time before Ignis’ alighted on the worst of it.

“How did you find me in the dark?” he repeated softly, his voice brittle but much too level.

“Iggy…” Gladio took a deep breath, forcing himself to finish as gently as he could. “Iggy, it’s not dark.”   
A hand gripped his wrist and he didn’t know if he wanted to lean into it or tear it off. He pulled his other hand free and lifted it to his face. This time no one stopped him, Gladio only whispered, “Just... be gentle.” His fingers touched against raw skin and he gasped. It felt like sandpaper and bubblegum and stung sharply at the pressure. He felt the lashes, one set moved against the back of his hand, the other still.

“My face is numb,” he said, his voice thick.   
“The stuff they’re giving you is pretty strong,” Gladio admitted. His hands sat on the bed next to Ignis, in case they were needed.  
“I don’t want to be numb.” That got another sigh from Gladio, little hairs spiking on the back of his neck.  
“Look, it’s pretty bad. It’s gonna hurt, a lot, if you stop taking-”  
“ _I don’t want to be numb!_ ” Ignis forced out and Gladio knew he’d not win the point.   
“I can talk to the doctor about cutting your dose,” he offered reluctantly.   
“Thank you,” Ignis said, sounding tired again. Gladio wanted to him to sleep again but he didn’t press. He wanted him to freak out, to scream, to cry, to do something but he still seemed determined to press it all down.

Prompto returned, his arms full. He’d been cautiously waiting for the opportune moment to interrupt, his sharp ears hearing everything but to wait along longer in the bathroom would be suspicious. “I found another pad, too. Need help to apply it?” He handed his burden over to Gladio and turned his immediate attention to Ignis.

“Hi, Ignis,” he said, a small catch in his throat unmissable. “Can I take your hand?”   
Any irritation that Ignis had built up dissipated at the simple request. He couldn’t bring himself to push Prompto away when he knew, unlike Gladio, he would take the shoving to heart.  
“Please,” he said, turning his hand over on the bed. He heard Gladio ripping open the sterile packages beside him.   
“Is it necessary?” he asked in a tight voice even as he gripped Prompto’s warm hand.  
“Until the doctor says otherwise, yeah. There’s still a risk of infection. You’re not that strong yet Iggy...” Gladio’s tone was slightly desperate, clearly expecting a challenge on that point too but Ignis only nodded once. “Very well,” he conceded.

While Gladio worked Ignis turned his attention to Prompto. “Tell me about Noctis,” he said. “What is his condition?”  
“There aren’t any wounds. He’s just exhausted, far as we can tell. The fight with Leviathan really took it out of him. Do you… remember? About Leviathan?” Prompto’s tone was gentle and, so, Ignis tried to make his so in return. “A little,” he said. “I am trying to remember more. Were you hurt?”  
“Nah. I’m fine,” Prompto said. Ignis tried to look sceptical but he had no idea if he was managing it. 

Ignis hissed as a fabric pad was laid over his left eye.   
“I’m sorry,” Gladio said softly.   
“There’s no need to be, it’s not deliberate.” Ignis turned his head to the side because it still felt too much to be direct. “It’s… is there no chance?”  
Gladio paused in his ministrations. “For you right eye? A little. There’s a chance you might recover some vision in it. It’s not a great chance, Iggy. That’s all I could get out of ‘em.”  
He stilled a moment to let Ignis absorb the reality he may well have to live with for the rest of his life.

“Thank you for being honest,” he said in a smaller voice, infused with as much deliberate dignity as he could muster. Prompto, no more fooled than Gladio, squeezed Ignis’ hand harder, concern making him bold.  
“You got us, Iggy. You always got us.”  
He just nodded and lay back against the thick pillows, drained. Moments later he was asleep just as fast as he’d awoken.   
Gladio looked across the bed at Prompto, showing far more of his pain than he intended.  
When Prompto set his mouth in grim support.

***  
“Do you remember Julia Winterlas? She waited outside your classroom for a week trying to get your attention. After a week you got sick of seeing her hovering around by your locker and asked her what was up. She reached up and cut a piece of your hair before you even knew what was happening. I thought she was gonna made a voodoo doll. You thought she was gonna stuff a pillow using all the hair she’d collected from the boys in the school. That was actually pretty gross, dude.”

Prompto sat with his feet on Noctis’ bed, crossed at the ankles. He ate from a bowl of stew that wasn’t as good as Ignis’ but appreciated nonetheless. He’d no idea if Noctis could hear him but he couldn’t bear just sitting in silence, watching his soulmate breathe so he prattled on about l;.pany subject Noctis may have had the slightest interest in to drown out the silence.

“Gladio should be by soon. He’s been busy, you know. We’ll explain it when you wake up. We’ll have a lot to do, still. You should rest while you can, right? You’ve always been good at that. Not that that’s a complaint. It’s a real skill. I’m impressed.”

Prompto dropped his feet and leaned in close, gravy on his lips as they hovered by Noctis’ temple. “Just don’t take too long, okay?”  
He put his bowl aside and knelt up on the bed, placing his hands over Noctis’ arms and rubbing them to keep them from getting too cold. “Hey, you should tell me how you managed to beat me in the cross country in second year. You cheated, right? ‘Cause I don’t mind. I just wanna know.”

He was still kneading Noctis’ still limbs when Gladio opened the door. At the start they had swapped rooms, giving each other a change of scene at least, but since Ignis had awoken Gladio had taken on almost full responsibility for his care. Ignis was not especially stable and Prompto knew Gladio was trying to spare him but he could hardly object to more time with Noctis, even if it was largely joyless.

Even now Gladio hadn’t come to relieve him. The shield pulled up the spare chair and sat himself by the bed. “How’s he doing?” he asked in as light a tone as he could manage.  
“We had a good talk but nothing yet. He’s still resting, aren’t you Noct?”  
“The talking might help. You never know,” Gladio shrugged. Hell, he couldn’t say he hadn’t done the same.

“Can’t hurt, right?” Prompto said, failing to keep the emotion from his own voice.  
Of course, it could. It could hurt very much.  
“Can you spare a few minutes?” Gladio asked. The shield looked exhausted and both of them needed as wash but those were mere details. They didn’t matter.  
“I can spare a whole hour for you. What’ya need?”  
“Come for a walk? If we don’t get some air we might just lose it and we need at least one of us in one piece.”  
Prompto hadn’t really thought about air but, now that it was mentioned, he felt a desire to be in a space that wasn’t weighed down by the heavy focus of _patients._

“I’m buying you a drink,” Prompto promised and was rewarded with a weak smile.

***  
Ignis’ sleep pattern was all over the place. He didn’t know night from day, there were none of the usual rhythms to tell him when it was time to sleep. Dinner could just as easily be breakfast. Gladio tried to help him with it, reminding him of the time, trying to keep him awake a little longer to start getting him into a more normal pattern. Success was mixed but he slept better when Gladio slept alongside him. That had more been through necessity than strategy. There had only been the two rooms available to them and the first night in the chair had proven unmanageable and Ignis had insisted Gladio rest. He was going to need it. Gladio could hardly argue and it seemed to help Ignis realise that, yes, it was night when Gladio lay down too.

Sleep wasn’t the only battleground.

The first time Ignis managed to finish a meal Gladio almost fainted in relief. Ignis’ appetite had been destroyed, his interest in food almost zero. He complained that he didn’t trust his stomach, and Gladio didn’t blame him, but they all needed to get back on their feet as soon as possible. Noct was gonna need them and their mission hadn’t gotten any less urgent.

Gladio would claim it was about the mission but his worry extended beyond that too. Food had always been important to Ignis. His lack of interest could indicate deeper issues. He’d toyed with a bowl of soup, he’d picked at a bread roll. He’d eaten the corner off a sandwich and stubbornly given up on it. When Gladio had pushed the small bowl of stew into Ignis’ hand he hadn’t expected much but, though it took a while, the bowl was empty when Ignis was done with it. Gladio hadn’t made a deal about it, just smiled as he cleared it away. “Good, huh?”

“It was… warm,” Ignis said, a hint of gratitude in his tone. He slept soon after, Gladio trying to read before giving up and staring at the ceiling. 

***  
Gladio was pulled awake by a horrible sound. It took him a moment to realise what it was. Ignis pitched and tossed on the bed beside him, oblivious to the gentle dawn light, his terrified scream still fresh on his lips.

Gladio scooped up his best friend without thinking, holding him close as he could. It was very rare for Ignis to be troubled by bad dreams, he usually slept well and efficiently, but he was hardly surprised that had suddenly changed.

“Iggy, wake up. You’re okay. It’s okay.” He spoke quickly, desperate to ease Ignis’ distress as fast as he could, gently shaking him.  
It was harder to tell when Ignis did wake with his eyes still covered but a change in his breathing gave him away. It sped up.

“Iggy. Iggy, shhhh, calm your breathing. It’s alright. You’re safe. I promise.” Lie or not it was only really important that it worked.  
“F-f- falling,” Ignis stammered. “C-c- couldn’t stop, f-f- falling.”  
Into the dark, complete and dense and crushing. Gladio understood, then, and tightened his arms around his terrified friend.

“But I caught you. I caught you. So it’s okay. You’re not falling. I got you.” Gladio was prattling now, filling the silence will words of comfort, not giving Ignis time to slip back into the dreamscape that had shaken him to his core.  
He could feel Ignis’ narrow body shaking and was under no illusion it was from cold. Before he would have offered to turn on the light and find distance that way but he’d have to find something different now. He shushed softly, patting at Ignis’ hair, at his back. He made sure to keep up words and sounds to assure Ignis that he was there.

“Breathe with me, Iggy. Slower... that’s it. Feel that? Much better. That’s it Iggy.”

Ignis lapped up the words, using them to centre himself again. They were the beacon he was allowed, now that he was reduced to grasping with desperate fingers. Slowly he regained control, pressing back, lifting his head to seek more contact, to give a little back.  
“There you go. There you go,” Gladio soothed. 

The covers had been dislodged in the struggle and Gladio took a moment to reach down and draw them back over themselves, hoping the weight helped Ignis feel a little safer. He didn’t seem to notice, just pressed closer to Gladio, still gently shivering. “Feel better?” 

Ignis’ voice was a little raw as he asked, “What time is it?”  
“It’s just after 07.00 hours. We should have breakfast soon, yeah?”  
Ignis just shook in response and Gladio held him and waited a moment. He wanted to _act_ but he wasn’t sure what else to do beyond what he already was. He could offer support but Ignis’ keel had to right itself.

For a few minutes he simply offered gentle words, whispered assurances, and it seemed to work. Gladio let out a deep breath as Ignis finally lifted moved to sit himself up. “Hey,” he said gently. “How’re you doing?”

Ignis took a properly deep breath and found Gladio’s face with his hand. “ _I don’t want to forget this,_ ” he whispered.  
Gladio covered Ignis’ hand with his own. “I’m not gonna let you,” he promised, certainty in his voice.  
Ignis nodded, letting out a slow breath, drawing in another. “I need to see Noct.”  
Ignis’ body still ached, his ribs cracked, his range limited but there was no way Gladio was going to try and stop him.

“Let’s go,” Gladio said, trying to sound rousing.  
“Alone,” Ignis’ tone soft but not inviting argument. “I wish to go alone.”  
“Iggy, you’ve-”  
“ _Alone._ Please, Gladio.” He wasn’t asking permission but for a swift end to the argument. Knowing just how stubborn his friend could be Gladio could only concede.  
“Prompto’s with him,” he said, because he figured Ignis would want to know alone wouldn’t be alone.  
“I expected as much. It’s not a concern.”

Gladio watched Ignis stand, leaning on his cane heavily. “Alright, Captain,” he said softly, stuffing down his desire to help and protect. “I'll wait here.”

***  
Ignis’ fingers wrapped around the cane that he’d been told was a gift from the people they'd saved. He’d only used it to find the bathroom so far and it still felt foreign in his hand but it allowed him some small confidence, almost as much as Gladio’s guiding hand on his back but he'd chosen to make do without that.

He didn’t feel like himself, he hadn’t since he woke. That was to be expected, it was not an excuse to stop, he told himself. Noctis needed him. Gladio. Prompto. The world. His injuries would heal. His eyes… he pushed that thought aside and followed Gladio’s directions to the room in which his king lay. It was his duty and his care and he wanted to keep doing things that Ignis Scientia would do in hope he would start to feel like that man again. After a moment of fumbling for the door handle he pushed inside.

“Ignis… are you alright? I heard-”  
“I am fine,” he said quickly, then modified his statement. “Thank you for your concern. I… hope you are taking care of yourself, Prompto. He would wish it.” Ignis faced the direction he could hear Prompto’s voice coming from.   
“Sure. I’ve been sleeping. Eating. It’s fine.”  
“I doubt that,” Ignis admonished gently. He paused close to Prompto with no idea of the size or layout of the room.

“Could you show me to Noctis?” he asked. Someone where in the back of his mind was the notion that Prompto would feel better if he felt helpful. Put in those terms asking for help felt less galling.

“Sure. This way,” Prompto said, taking Ignis’ arm and showing him to the edge of the bed.  
“Thank you Prompto.” Ignis pulled his dignity around him like a cloak. “May I have a little time alone with him?”  
“Of course, Ignis. He’s… he’d like that.”  
Ignis wasn’t yet sure if Noctis would like anything ever again but he kept that thought to himself. He was not there to step on whatever small hope they could find.

“Rest. Eat. You might consider a shower,” Ignis couldn’t resist, his mouth quirked into a tiny smile.   
Prompto blushed and took a step back away from Ignis. “Ahh, sorry. I guess I forgot.”  
“Understandable. It must seem indulgent, under the circumstances.”  
Prompto nodded, then remembered himself. “Yeah. It does. I’ll be back soon. Cleaner, I promise.”

Ignis heard the young man leave and found the chair by the bed. He sat carefully, reaching out for the mattress, searching over the sheets for the figure on the bed. Noctis felt cool to the touch but his skin still had the give of life. He closed a hand around Noctis’ wrist and gripped it tight.

“It’s really about time you woke up, Noctis,” he said. The young king’s slow breathing didn’t change.

***

Prompto had promised he’d shower, eat, rest, and he would, but there was something he needed to do first.  
“Forget something Iggy?” Gladio called at the knocking.  
“It’s me,” Prompto called back.   
“Oh. Come in then.”

Prompto pushed open the door to find Gladio sitting on the bed, knees bent up. The bedding under him was twisted.  
“He kick you out?” Gladio said, sounding tired.  
“Said I needed a shower.” Prompto screwed up his nose.  
“He has a point,’ Gladio said, making a similar face.  
“I was hoping it was just that his nose was more sensitive now. You know, to compensate.”

That got a genuine chuckle from Gladio and, in turn, a genuine smile from Prompto. It was a truly crap time but there was a little relief in the fact that each had some understanding of the other’s position.  
“You look terrible, by the way,” Prompto added, taking up a position on the end of the bed.  
“You look like a chocobo set up nest in your hair,” Gladio countered.  
“You look like someone smacked you in the face with a meat pie.”  
“I’ll give you meat pie.”  
“Good! I was getting hungry.”

Gladio looked like he was preparing another insult but his expression relaxed and he simply broke into a deep laugh. “There’s a muffin in the top drawer,” he chuckled. “It’s yours.”

Prompto moved to take it, too hungry to be polite and quibble. Treat retrieved he returned to the foot of the bed, drawing his right leg under him and sitting on his foot. Relieved of their burdens they were both feeling a little lost. 

“You eat today?” Prompto asked casually as he chewed bits of muffin.   
“Not yet,” he shrugged, looking at the end of the bed much more than he was looking at Prompto.   
“They’re not gonna need us for a while,” he said matter-of-factly.  
“Not sure they do now.”

Prompto got it. He did. What power did they really have? There was no waking Noct, there was no giving Ignis back his eyes. Didn’t mean they could give up.   
“Hey, someone has to tell him when his collar is crooked,” Prompto said, with the forced brightness he’d been calling on a great deal of late.

That earned a deep sigh and small smile from Gladio. Prompto had been easy to underestimate when Gladio first met him but he’d quickly learned that the young man had a wisdom born from tough experience and a kind nature. More often than not he came up with the right thing to say at the right time, made a mistake feel okay. Made the pressure feel a little less oppressive.

“He won’t be back for a while,” Gladio said.   
“Bet I can find us something better to eat that this muffin,” Prompto said at the same time as Gladio said, “How do you do it.”  
“Wait… what?” 

“I mean unless you wanna punch the wall every few seconds.”

Prompto’s smile was thin and self-depreciating. “Well, not every few seconds but… yeah. I wanted to punch a few things already. I feel like a lump. Like I’m just here. Takin’ up space. I mean I talk to him. Man do I talk, but I could just as well be talking to a wall. I’ve been wishing someone would just… tell us what to do. That’s kinda been Iggy and Noct but now...”

Gladio frowned. “No one’s comin’.” If he’d been at home, if their fathers were alive, they’d have bustled in, taken over. They’d know what to do. Gladio felt utterly out of his depth for the first time he could remember and he didn’t know how to protect Prompto’s hope any more than his own but he had to try. It was him or no one.

Sure Noctis would wake up. Ignis would find somewhere safe to wait for them to return, but nothing would ever be as it was.

“Sorry,” he muttered when he saw the look on Prompto’s face, saw him shift in his chair. It wasn’t the kid’s fault. He’d done his best. Still was. “When Noct wakes up we’ll kick on. Pretty sure we’re doing all we can for now, just between you and me.” 

Prompto nodded, fiddled with his shoelaces a little. “Ignis… he said he was alright but… I heard him. Before.”  
“He’s not alright,” Gladio shrugged. “There’s no way he could be alright. Not yet. He’s still doing better than about anyone else would but he’s in no way okay. It’s why I’m recommending he stays out of it from now on. Haven’t put it to him yet. We both know how that’ll go down but… even if he could get up to fighting speed we don’t have the time to retrain him. He still has that cut on his chest… he’s not up to it.”

Prompto understood where Gladio was coming from. He was looking out for their friend, for the mission. Maybe it was selfish but Prompto didn’t want to leave anyone behind. “Don’t you think… that’ll be worse?” he breathes. “Leaving him with people he doesn’t know?”

“Worse than dying five minutes into his first fight?” Gladio said doggedly.

“I don’t know… maybe that’s up to him to decide,” Prompto said, softly, drawing on all his courage to stand up to his friend. 

“It’s not that simple,” Gladio countered, shaking his head. “Some things are just not possible. Even for Iggy. It’s too much to ask, for all of us.” It was clearly a joyless discussion for the shield, the heavy weight of the week hardly looked denser that in that moment. Prompto let the matter drop for the moment. It wouldn’t be up to him anyway. Wouldn’t be up to Gladio either. That realisation didn’t ease their mutual feelings of helplessness.

“Look, after my shower I was gonna head down to the dining room. Maybe get some air. You should come, big guy, while Iggy is busy.”

Gladio hesitated a moment before releasing the tension he’d been holding in a heavy sigh. “Sure. Suppose we need to set a good example.”

Prompto nodded, heading off for a quick shower. He never took his time any more.


End file.
